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KGSP by the numbers

Since 2008, the KAUST Gifted Student Program (KGSP) has supported the Kingdom’s most talented students through bachelor’s degrees at leading universities worldwide, and prepared them for graduate study at KAUST. Here are its numbers: students, admissions, support, enrichment and alumni.

By the numbers

KGSP at a glance

  • 297

    students at leading universities today

  • 728

    alumni since the program began in 2008

  • 142

    alumni in KAUST graduate programs today

  • 42

    host universities in 2025–26

  • 3.45

    median cumulative GPA

  • 37%

    of current students are women

Sources: KGSP records, 2026; KGSP annual reports 2025 and 2026.

Students

Today’s students

KGSP students earn bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at leading universities, then come home to KAUST for graduate study.

Current students by year of study297 students in four classes
  1. Freshmen 66
  2. Sophomores 65
  3. Juniors 75
  4. Seniors 91
Current students by year of study
Current students by year of studyStudents
Freshmen66
Sophomores65
Juniors75
Seniors91
  • 60%+of 2025–26 students took part in KAUST Academy programs before the KGSP
  • 72seniors graduated in 2026
  • 3.45mean GPA of the 2026 graduates

University placement

Into the world’s top universities

The KGSP guides every student through admission to top undergraduate STEM programs. The figures are for the students who started university in 2025. In 2026, Cohort 18 was admitted to universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the program’s first step beyond the United States.

  • 100%received at least one full admission to a top global university
  • 79%placed at universities on the Ministry of Education’s Arruaad list of the top 30 global universities
  • 69students started at top universities in 2025
  • 42%admission rate on applications to top global universities
  • 100%say the KGSP improved their application preparation
  • 97%say the KGSP prepared them for success at university

Source: KGSP Annual Report 2025.

Student support

An advisor for every student

Advisors meet their students regularly, visit them on campus and help with everything from course plans to summer plans, alongside tutoring, peer and alumni mentoring, and workshops.

Students and support, year by year
2024–252025–26
Students enrolled375314
Host universities4742
Advisors to students1:351:50
In-person campus visits by advisors4948
Students satisfied with their KGSP experience92%92%
Students who felt their advisor supported them86%not reported
Students satisfied with their advisornot reported92%
Seniors graduating6772
Mean GPA of graduating seniors3.533.45

Sources: KGSP annual reports 2025 and 2026. A dash means the report doesn’t give that figure.

Beyond the classroom

Summers of research and industry

Every summer, KGSP students do research, internships and programs at KAUST, at universities and at companies such as Aramco. In 2026 they did so in 9 countries.

Summer enrichment
20252026
Research placements13596
Industry internships47not reported
Host organizations and partners8589
Students in KAUST’s summer research and internship program4838
Students in the KAUST Academy Specialization Program’s summer programs3019
Students who completed summer enrichment95%95%
Students reporting gains in intrapersonal skillsnot reported97%
Countries109

Sources: KGSP annual reports 2025 and 2026.

KAUST engagement

Connected to KAUST from day one

Historically, more than 80% of KGSP graduates have gone on to graduate study at KAUST. Every year the whole student body meets KAUST faculty, alumni and leadership at the KGSP Convocation: in Chicago in February 2025, and in Washington, D.C. in January 2026.

Time with KAUST
20252026
Students at the KGSP Convocation362293
KAUST faculty at the Convocationnot reported16
New students at the Pre-Departure Orientation6367
Students mentored by KAUST community members107not reported
Alumni who supported program events3333
Graduates expected to start KAUST graduate programs that fall52not reported

Sources: KGSP annual reports 2025 and 2026.

Now showing

KGSP Convocation 2026

All films (2)

  1. KGSP Convocation 2026
  2. A message from HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud
Highlights of the KGSP Convocation in Washington, D.C., January 2026, and a recorded message to KGSP students from HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States.

Alumni

Where KGSP alumni go

KGSP alumni are researchers, engineers, founders and faculty across the Kingdom. In November 2025, more than 200 of them came back to KAUST for the first KGSP Alumni Summit.

  • 728alumni
  • 142in KAUST graduate programs today
  • 100+employers, led by PIF and its companies, Aramco, NEOM, Bain & Company and Mozn
  • 3.55mean undergraduate GPA of alumni

At KAUST, compared with other groups of students, KGSP alumni have

  • the highest acceptance rate to KAUST graduate programs
  • the highest median GPA in KAUST graduate courses
  • the highest M.S. completion rate

Source: KAUST Registrar’s Office, KGSP Technical Review, 2023.

Alumni highlights

  • 1KAUST faculty member

    • Dr. Jawaher AlmutlaqCohort 2, B.S. Penn State University, Ph.D. KAUST; Ibn Rushd Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics

  • 7Saudi Rhodes Scholars

    • Mneerah SaudCohort 7, Brown University
    • Omar AlshangitiCohort 8, University of Illinois
    • Ghadah AlshalanCohort 9, MIT
    • Ahmed AljohaniCohort 9, Emory University
    • Mohammed AlwelyeeCohort 12, Boston University
    • Osama DabbousiCohort 12, Boston University
    • Mohammed AlharthiCohort 13, UCLA

  • 8Ibn Rushd postdoctoral fellows

    • Dr. Abdullah AlsalloumCohort 4, MIT
    • Dr. Mohammed Al JohaniCohort 4, UC Berkeley
    • Dr. Emad Al IbrahimCohort 4, University of Washington
    • Dr. Yara AlshwairikhCohort 4, UCLA
    • Dr. Abdullah BukhamsinCohort 5, Rice University
    • Abdulrahman M. AlfaraidiCohort 5, University of Southern California
    • Sarah Al AbdullatifCohort 6, UC Berkeley
    • Omar AlshangitiCohort 8, University of Illinois

  • 1Ibn Khaldun postdoctoral fellow

    • Dr. Jawaher AlmutlaqCohort 2, Penn State University

  • 3KAUST commencement speakers

    • Yasmeen NajmCohort 1, University College London
    • Dr. Nada AljassimCohort 1, University College London
    • Hassan AlsibyaniCohort 3, MIT

  • 2Forbes 30 Under 30

    • Abdulaziz AlghunaimCohort 2, MIT (2019, Social Entrepreneurship)
    • Dr. Yasmeen AlfarajCohort 7, UC Berkeley (2026, Manufacturing & Industry)

  • 7Start-ups founded by alumni

    • SAEEDr. Tariq Alturkestani (Cohort 1, Penn State)
    • TarjimlyAbdulaziz Alghunaim (Cohort 2, MIT)
    • NashAbdulaziz Alghunaim (Cohort 2, MIT) and Mahmoud Ghulman (Cohort 3, MIT)
    • Golden Ratio InstituteDr. Eman Alhajji (Cohort 4, North Carolina State University)
    • LeversAmmar Alkhouli (Cohort 4, Yale University) and Motasim Zawawi (Cohort 5, Stanford University)
    • Everbridge CapitalDr. Abdulelah Saleh (Cohort 4, UC San Diego)
    • GhirassGhanimah Abuhaimed (Cohort 6, University of Colorado)

  • 1KGSP Distinguished Alumni Award, first recipient (2026)

    • Dr. Eman AlhajjiCohort 4

Read the KGSP annual reports on the Reports page, or see the numbers for other programs.